The Holy Martyr Charalampius (193-211)
Joel 2:12-26; Joel 3:12-21
According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
Read Joel 2:12-26
Today, on Cheesefare week—the week before the start of Great Lent—we begin with Lenten Services. On Wednesday and Friday Liturgy is not served as these days are aliturgical. The Lenten services are prescribed with the inclusion of the Prayer of St. Ephraim and prostrations. This week can be likened to Shrove Tuesday in the Roman Catholic Tradition. It is worthy to note that in the Byzantine Tradition Great Lent start on Monday as opposed to Wednesday in the Roman Catholic Church.
The readings on Wednesday and Friday are, just as in Great Lent, from the Old Testament. As we prepare to begin Great Lent we can ask the question: how do we get the most of this upcoming Liturgical Season. The Prophet Joel encourages us that the goal of Great Lent is to reorient our life to the Lord and we ought to do this with our whole heart. Remember that the heart is the centre of the human being and the meeting place between us and the Lord God. The Lord desires our heart because we are created for Him to be enthroned in the centre of our life. Joel also brings to our attention that we ought to purify our hearts with ‘fasting, weeping and with mourning’ in order to make it a worthy place for the King to abide. In order to receive the blessing of this holy time, we need to make sure that we genuinely and honestly embrace it with our whole heart. So, put your heart into this Lent and you’ll be surprised at the blessing prepared for you.